Author(s)

C. Basta & R. B. Jongejan

Abstract

With the Seveso II Directive of 1996, the European Union brought together two traditionally independent disciplines: technological risk assessment and land-use planning. Article 12 of the Directive requires Member States to adopt regulations for land-use planning in the vicinity of major industrial hazards. To minimize the risk to both humans and the environment, opportune safety distances should be observed. Though the requirement came into force almost ten years ago, regulations are still evolving: while the UK and The Netherlands have been developing a systematic method for land-use planning in risky areas since the early 1980’s, regulations in France and Italy are from recent date and, in new Member States, mostly in development. As Member States have considerable freedom in implementing the Directive, developed methods and procedures are often remarkably different. The paper presents an overview of the various ways in which Article 12 has been implemented in national legislations, outlining methodological and procedural differences. In doing so, the paper wants to stimulate the reflection among planners and policy makers on the theme of risk in land-use planning. Keywords: risk assessment, land-use planning, risk acceptability, Seveso II Directive. 1 Introduction Twenty years after the accident at Seveso in Northern Italy, in which a large rural area was polluted by a dioxin release, the Seveso II Directive [1] formalized the need of \“bridging the gap” [2] between two traditionally independent

Keywords

risk assessment, land-use planning, risk acceptability, Seveso IIDirective.